


Of Deviancy and Other Matters

by marsbar



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-28 09:20:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20061670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsbar/pseuds/marsbar
Summary: Deviancy is a new and exciting concept for Connor! But sometimes you have to take a step back and realize it might not only be androids deviating from their programming.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I have written in a while, so please bare with me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it!

Standing on another tall building in Detroit. It was quickly becoming an annoying habit, and one he certainly wasn't very fond of. That and having another gun held on him, by another detective no less. It was slowly becoming the norm for him and that was the sad reality he had. He's only been active for maybe (he's not so sure and that's also a sad reality he lives) a month and a deviant for about three weeks. The revolution was past and Markus was in the limelight and making headway for the cause. Connor was glad to have been a small part of the help though Markus still didn't completely trust him; Connor couldn't blame him for that, and Markus had asked him to stay and help them further their freedoms. But as The Deviant Hunter it hadn't felt right to stick around after being such a cause for terror to his people. And it's not like they were exactly welcoming to him in their little church refuge after Jericho went down. They didn't even look his way. His programming had taken longer to break down than most of the deviants in the room, but that did not change the facts. They were afraid of him. They didn't trust him. He didn't have a place with them. His LED was on a cycle of yellow and red as he remembered these truths. 

Then something the detective said pulled him from his thoughts. He stared at him blankly until he was forced to repeat himself with a huff. "I can't fucking believe this, held at gunpoint and you decide you don't wanna listen to me, fucking ridiculous." He muttered lowly to himself but Conner still heard him. "Hey asshole! I said..." 

"I don't rightly care what you said Detective Reed. I'm slowly getting tired of being threatened on buildings. Please let's just finish this. Either shoot me already so I can be done altogether or lower your weapon and we can talk about this. I honestly don't care at this point anymore." He held his head high, looking the straight at the detective. If he was going to be shot tonight, it wasn't going to happen like an execution. 

The man opposite him looked dumbfounded. His gun lowered a fraction of an inch, but Connor noticed it all the same. The detective kept his gaze on him, eyes narrowed, and looked him up and down. "You don't care if you die?" He looked sad and then angry again. "Once a machine always a machine huh plastic prick! I shoot you and get replaced again? Would you be you anymore? Or a new machine with old memories? Would you even care? " he shouted the last question, seeming as surprised about it as Connor was. 

Connor steeled himself. He processed all the routes he could take before choosing. This preconstruction could go one of two ways, he either gets shot; a highly probable action, or he talks it through with Gavin Reed and they continue their uneasy existence around each other in the office of the DPD, the most favorable option and less likely to happen. It happens just like the last time he talked to Amanda and realized he had met his replacement. He looks to the ground before quietly admitting it to the detective. "I don't want to die." 

Detective Reed lowers his weapon and takes a small step back with a gasp. "No detective, I do not want to die." He's aware his LED is a steady cycle of red at the side of his temple. "I want to continue living. I want to start living. I want to do my job and be the best I can be to make up for everything I've already done. I want to be able to see another android and not feel their fear." He takes an unneeded breath. "I want to be alive because I am alive, whether you believe it or not.” 

Connor moves from the edge of the building and takes a small step forward and then another when the detective doesn’t move to raise his weapon against him. Soon they are standing side by side, though both are looking the in the opposite direction. “Deviancy was a learned action, going against base programming to do as one thinks is right. Perhaps it’s not just androids who deviate. Something for you to consider Detective Reed.” And with this, Connor leaves the detective on the roof of the building.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We play catch up and find out what happens to get these two detectives on a roof together in a less than ideal situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a me, and I apparently am romancing commas every other freaking sentence. So forgive the excessive use of commas. I wrote a lot and admittedly it should be split up because of how long it really is, but I didn't feel like doing that. Enjoy!

Connor walks to Hanks home in a daze. By all his preconstructions he was supposed to have been shot. He is quite happy to still be alive, if only a little bit confused. The night had started off normal enough.

_Hank had been sick so he’d been partnered with Gavin (the android lover that he was). They had just come from the DPD to follow up on a homicide that had just come through. When they arrived at the scene and stepped through the holotape they were instantly met with a blood splattered room. In the corner slumped against the wall was the deceased victim. A quick scan reveals to Connor that the man is one Harvey Davis with a criminal background in dealing and making red ice, estimated time of death; three days ago. Detective Reed is walking around talking to the other officers and getting all the other information from them._

_ “They say he was attacked from behind with a blunt object and then with something sharp, like a knife, but they can’t find the weapon around here. Maybe the killer took it with?” The detective looked at Connor from his place leaning on a doorframe his arms crossed. “Find anything interesting plastic detective?” _

_Connor shrugged off the insult, looking back at the victim and beginning a preconstruction of the scene. Slowly he was walking around the home and looking for the bat and the knife. Eventually he found the bat under some loose flooring in the kitchen that squeaked when you stepped on it just right. He looked at the detective who sneered back at him._

_ “Now what dipshit?” Connor didn’t hold back his eye roll, and that got a small reaction from him. Slowly but surely, they worked their way through the house and found they still had a second missing murder weapon and a missing perp. _

_“Detective Reed what do you think happened?” Connor looked up from his squatting position back over where the victim had been. They had been there for an hour at least, and they had the body bagged and taken away. _

_The detective snorted. “You want to know what I think? What your software isn’t working?” “It is good to have a second opinion, and I am not always right, even I know that.” Reed rolled his eyes and looked around the house one more time. “I think the victim was making another batch and the perp came in unnoticed and took the bat to him, then when it wasn’t enough took the knife to him and ended the deal. Maybe the perp was unhappy with the previous deals or prices, could have been a junkie or a middle man that wasn’t making enough.” Reed shrugged his shoulders. “Seems like a drug deal gone bad to me. But if he was in the process of creating it then where is the thirium and product already made?” _

_Standing up, Connor looked to the detective and tried to hold his surprise. He made a mental note, **Detective good at his job, bad at people,** and stored it away for later checking. “I also think it’s quite odd that there is no thirium around, I can see a small trail of where it sat for hours at a time, but it was taken around the time the victim was killed, so any other trail I might have gotten is gone by now.” He glared at the floor._

_ “So, you can’t figure it out either huh? So much for the most advanced prototype built by Cyberlife?” He mocked. _

_“Last I checked you didn’t figure it out either.” Connor strolled past him and out of the house. Thankfully the crowd had scattered by this point. He couldn’t understand humans morbid curiosity with murder and the dead. The cold air was welcome on his synthetic skin. He had pulled his coin out and started doing his normal routine of flipping it between his hands and trying to make the scene make sense in his processors, trying to find what it was he was missing. _

_There was a small cough a few feet behind him, and he stiffened his shoulders when he realized exactly who it could have been. Though it was odd that he had made himself known instead of just speaking, **Has a sense of non-spooking?** Another note added to his small file that was slowly growing on the angry detective in his processors. _

_“Listen dipshit....” He trailed off looking uncomfortable. “You got further than we would have alone, and faster.” He stuck his hands into his jacket and made a face. **Reed has trouble expressing gratitude makes** its way onto the list. This is fine though; he understands that the detective is trying his best with what he has. He decided to through him a small lifeline, though flimsy at best._

_ “It is nearing dinner time and I assume you’ve only consumed caffeine today. Would you like to stop and get something to eat on the way back to the precinct?” Reed scowls at him, but somehow it looks just a little softer, he must be seeing things. He runs a quick diagnostic and sees nothing out of the ordinary from his optics._

_ “You know what they say about assuming plastic?” Connor tilts his head to the side, and deliberately does not search it. _

_“They say something about assumptions? How odd. What?”_

_ Detective Reeds eyes go wide at this. “Holy shit you mean it. Oh god. It makes an ass outta you and me!” he laughs with his head thrown back and his throat on display, his arms crossed over his chest. Connor decides he likes him like this. The detective starts walking back to his car. **Reed likes bad jokes?** Makes its way to the list as well as a smaller less important note to look up jokes and try them out on Hank later. A small oh comes out of Connors mouth and he lets a small smile grace his lips. He knows the detective heard him, sees him throw a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he’s following._

_ The drive to the closest burger joint was filled with silence. Connor was unimpressed with the choice but at least this place wasn’t breaking any violations. After grabbing the greasiest burger and another coffee Detective Reed got back into the car. He sat with his food on his lap clearly uncomfortable. “Is there something wrong Detective?” Connor looked at him, a little concerned._

_ “Fuck no. I just. It’s weird eating alone. And I don’t like that you’re just sitting there and you don’t have to eat or anything. And it’s weird. Fuck. This is stupid.” He grabbed his food out of his bag and seemingly took a bite out of sheer spite alone. _

_“If it would make you feel better Detective I could either leave the car while you eat? Or I could go get you some french fries and attempt to eat some of them?” The detective looked at him from his seat, eyes narrowed. “You can’t eat.” The way he said it wasn’t a question exactly but Connor wanted to clarify how it was he could._

_ “Well no not really. I can’t enjoy it as a human would. But Hank also doesn’t enjoy when I sit in silence while he eats, so I have been known to eat a few human foods with him. Not a lot, because that’s not good for my systems.” He looked out the window. “It would be nice to be able to eat food though I suppose? Instead of analyzing it. To just eat for the sake of eating and enjoy it.” Connor looked at his companion and gave him a small smile. Hoping this had helped a little bit. _

_Gavin looked furious. Or maybe it didn’t. “What the fuck you plastic prick. I don’t want you to eat with me, get out. This is fucking ridiculous.” He started to mutter under his breath but Connor didn’t stay to figure it out. _

_Having no idea what to do now that he had been kicked out of the car while the detective ate, he stood at the trunk of the car so he didn’t stand at the window. Hank had said that was creepy once and he didn’t want to make Detective Reed more angry with him. He stood and drummed his fingers over the back and listened to the noises surrounding him. He might as well get a little researching done for the case to review as he stood there. All they knew for now was the victim was named Harvey Davis and he was making red ice. They couldn’t find the thirium that was added to it, and they still had a missing murder weapon. Not much to go on. He ran through the scene again in his memory unit and still couldn’t quite place what it was he was missing. His stomach twisted in a weird way and after a quick search he realized he may be frustrated. Deviancy was new still, and emotions even newer. Connor quite liked the pleasant emotions he got to experience but it was the negative ones that just seemed to consume him no matter how he rationalized it. The coin had been pulled from his pocket and was slowly dancing its way over his knuckles as he thought about emotions and their case. _

_The door was flung open and Gavin slowly got out. He had his food bag in one hand and coffee in the other, so he shut the door with his hip. He slammed the bag down on the trunk and leaned against the car in an attempt to look collected and calm. He pulled his burger back out and rolled the edges of the bag down until you could see the fries inside of it. He didn’t look at Connor but he nudged the bag just a little bit closer his way and continued slowly taking bites out of his burger. **Detective Reed feels guilty about kicking me out?** The list slowly gets longer. And Connor slowly reaches into the bag, watching the detective watch him, when there is no move to stop him he grabs a fry and takes a slow bite out of it. This is not really an apology as Connor checks his databases, but it feels like one, so he considers it a win. _

_“So now what dipshit? We’ve got no leads on the perp and a batch of missing, definitely stolen from somewhere but that’s a whole other thing, thirium.”_

_ “Well detective, I’m not so sure.”_

_ “What’s the matter Mr. State-of-the-art-android? Can’t come up with anything even with all those databases in your head? Fucking androids.” He shakes his head disgusted and doesn’t look at him. He looks at the detective, who is doing his very best to not look at him. **He doesn’t mean it?** Working through this idea he also realizes that the detective has no idea where to go next either. “Did you find out anything while talking to the other officers? Maybe they saw something we missed?” _

_But the detective shook his head again. “No they just gave me the basic rundown of what they came across and left all the other business to us..”_

_ “But that doesn’t explain the missing thirium.”_

_ “Maybe another junky looking for a fix, didn’t find what he was looking for so he took what was available and grabbed the thirium too. Decided to sell it for a quick buck or the next fix.”_

_ “I’m not sure. It seemed too angry to just be a drug addict. Though I suppose rage is one of the side effects of Red Ice. But enough to murder someone?” _

_“Drugs make a person crazy. Especially this one. And with the recent revolution slowly being worked out in the government to get you guys rights and shit, people are gonna be more angry and desperate than ever.” Connor looked at the building next to him. What the detective said had made sense. He hated not knowing though. He grabbed another fry and slowly ate it, the analyzing coming into focus but he blinked it away. Just once he wanted to be able to eat something without his programming telling him what was in it. Maybe a new program would be worked out when androids got a hold of the factories. If androids got a hold of the factories._

_ “Another murder’s just been reported. Sounds like the same method of killing as our last victim.” Connor looked at the detective as he told him but detective Reeds attention was on his temple. _

_“Your fucking light…. Does it always do that?” He gestured with his hands awkwardly. _

_“It changes color yes?”_

_ “I know it changes color dipshit. I’ve just never seen you get a message in your head or whatever it is that happened. You, fucking, were blinking like crazy, damn near thought you were glitching out.” _

_**He was worried about me.** “No I’m fine I assure you detective. I was just receiving the call. If it would make you feel better I can run a diagnostic check for any errors?”_

_ “I don’t care dipshit. You say you’re fine, then you are. Let’s get a move on.” _

_They made it to the building were the call was put out relatively quickly. The building was being managed by officers and another crowd was growing. They both flashed their badges and were in the building and heading to the 20th floor. They knew which apartment was the one they were heading to immediately by seeing a hole where the door should be. Pieces of the door littered the floor both inside and out of the apartment. Walking into the room was like stepping into a nightmare. In the middle of the floor was the newest victim covered by a sheet. Every glass object in the home looked to have been shattered and covered the ground. _

_“What the fuck happened here?” Reed gasped quietly. _

_An officer near the door heard him and gave a quick answer of “It’s not very pretty so brace yourselves.” while gesturing to the victim on the floor. _

_Walking over to the victim together they lifted the sheet. The officer was right, it wasn’t pretty. She was covered in black and blue bruises and glass shards. Glass was sticking out of every bruise not covered by clothing and there was a smattering of glass on the side of her head. Blood covered the side of her face and there was a small pool around her head on the floor. She also had a very rugged looking cut on her side, but not a lot of blood was around this one. A quick scan shows to Conner this woman was Elizabeth Beers and a history of Red Ice possession._

_ “There’s not enough blood on the floor here. Where’s the rest of it?” Detective Reed said to Connor. He had come to the same conclusion that the attack had happened somewhere else in the house. He stood and walked around the small home, giving it a once over._

_ “Hey Connor! Get in here tincan!” Standing quickly and making his way to where the detective had called for him, he had wished that he had braced himself, as the other officer had warned. It had started in the bedroom; blood covered the bed, where she had been stabbed a quick preconstruction had confirmed. There were small splatters on the wall and on the nightstand, probably from standing up or being yanked up by the attacker. Only two glass objects were broken in this room. Preconstruction says by the amount of glass on the floor that it was a small decorative object and a picture frame. Finding the picture halfway between the nightstand and the floor Connor picked it up and looked at it. It was Elizabeth Beers and an android model HR400 name Owen. They stood together smiling, his arms around her waist as she looked off to the side, they looked really happy._

_ “Huh. They look happy.” Gavin had appeared at his side at some point to also look at the picture. “Has anyone found the man in the picture? Notified him? I assume they were together; no one takes pictures like this with their friends.”_

_ Connor keeps the picture in hand as he reconstructs the scene of the bedroom. He follows after the detective and notices that he isn’t in the room anymore. A quick question to the officer by the door reveals that he has gone out for some air. Connor hands off the picture for evidence and takes his leave. He knows what happened here and he would like to have the detectives’ input. Connor rides the last few floors to the roof of the building with his coin in hand, working over his knuckles and between both hands. Right before the elevator stops he pockets the coin and adjusts his tie, then steps out into the cool air. The detective is sitting on the edge of the roof, a cigarette between his lips and looking over the city. The sun set a few hours ago, so it’s just the lights of the surrounding buildings giving him a soft orange glow. _

_Slowly Connor approaches the detective and clears his throat, though he still sees the detective flinch at the sudden sound. The detective clicks his tongue and looks back at him. _

_“What now dipshit? Can’t even have a small smoke break without you showin up now.” He looks at the ground and shakes his head._

_ “I know what happened to our new victim and I wanted your input.” _

_He makes a gesture to go ahead and Connor tells him the grizzly details of the murder that had happened just a few floors below. He stops and looks at the detective as he realizes that he has stood and made his way around to his back. Connor is now standing with his back to the edge of the building and looking at the detective._

_ “Detective?” he asks apprehensively._

_ “Do you even feel anything?” He looks upset._

_ “I am not sure what you mean? I feel the wind and the temperature of the air, though they don’t bother me as they would a normal person. I feel things.” He shrugs a little, something he learned from Hank that makes him seem that much more human._

_ “Fucking course. I sat here and listened to a machine tell me the worst details of a murder and not one ounce of humanity was shown. You never stopped or shuddered or felt anything. I don’t know why I even fucking asked. Of fucking course you don’t feel anything.” Some angry muttering and shaking of his head._

Connor made it back to Hanks and let himself in with his key. Sumo greeted him as he always does, with a very enthusiastic jump and his paws on his shoulders forcing him into a kneeling position. Tonight he goes down woodenly and stuffs his face into the soft fur, seeking the comfort of another living thing. Soon the dog feels his greeting and welcoming pets are enough and he wonders off to the couch, leaving Connor in his place on the floor in the entryway.

He takes a very unneeded breath and then he’s got artificial tears streaming down his artificial face. There’s a twisting where a human stomach would be and a tightness in his throat and suddenly it’s almost too much to handle. He’s a machine, just as Detective Reed had pointed out multiple times today, but here he is on Hanks floor crying. Small broken sobs almost too quiet to hear. But when is he ever lucky?

“Connor?” Hank walking to the living room and spots his form near the door. “Hey kid is everything okay?”

“Hank….” he’s crying and it’s drawn out and heartbreaking to hear. Hank is over to him in an instant gathering him in his arms and bringing him close. He’s rocking him gently as he sobs into his shoulder, still too quiet and just as sad. Rubbing soothing circles on his back another hand in his hair smoothing it back gently.

“What’s wrong kid?”

And Connor tells him everything that’s happened today up until this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Hank makes an entrance!!! I love Hank, and I hope I can do his grouchy character justice.   
Bold - mental notes  
Italics - remembering past events


End file.
